mjhowson

RestByte

There is a familiar issue experienced by students: what to do when there are no classes, no work to do and no money in the drinking column. The answer for a good few is to game, and that is no longer just an answer for the geekier among us. Ever since Modern Warfare 2 overtook Avatar in Box Office sales, gaming has become a serious media.

So how does the world of student and gaming combine? In RestBYTE, a new student run website. Liam Anderson, a co-creator and the website designer for the project explains “we know you can get a review anywhere that tells you HOW good the game is. The problem is these 5 star games then over-exhert themselves on to us and we end up with poor grades. The answer is a website that advises how addictive the game is.”

On this premise RestBYTE has designed a rating system that includes: “unplayable”, “dont try this at home unless your an achievement or trophy whore”, “good dipping”, and “leave it till summer honey”! The aim is to be humourous but informative and to help students avoid a controller addiction over term time.

“There is the aim of total interactivity – forums and comment pages, within a user-friendly setting” states Anderson, which should make RestBYTE the first of its kind. The writing staff are keen however to remain cutting edge but realistic. “After all this is a free publication, we will be writing from our own stocks of games”: what comes across is the websites awareness that it may not necessarily review the must-have game right away but have a catalogue of hundreds of older games once it is up and running. The features sound intersting to, exploring the eternal debate of Guitar Hero v. Rock Band, 360 v. PS3, and what older console rocks!

The site is still taking its baby steps, but is hoping to collaborate with Edinburgh Napier as well as other Universities post launch.

A preview of the next decade’s weather

2009 was all about recycling, reusing and reducing. There was a barrage of constant information demanding we highten our recycling efforts. Scotland vowed to cut emissions by 42% by 2020, the strongest commitment by any country. Copenhagen came and went and no one really followed suit. The end of 2009 saw Britian in the brace of cold snap, that further proved theories of global warming.

The outlook on 2010 environmentally is bleak. A decade ago global warming was a distant problem and it has crept up on us quicker than expected. The proof is the Artic ice melting, and predictions are without change, there will be no ice over summer. The reality is that there will be no where for polar bears to live.

Polar bears are not the only creatures of concern, deforrestation has seen the panda and tiger both emerge high on the endangered species list. These cuddly creatures emotionally engage us. But what about the less cute critters – people don’t consider that thier dinner may be endangered. Sadly overfishing has resulted in cod, salmon, pollock and tuna being endangered.

The World Wildlife Fedaration want people to also think about the house plants, and herbal remedies being used. Ginsing, considered a wonder-herb that premotes life and treats ailments such as depression, diabeties and anxiety disorder, needs to be preserved. Also on the cards is the loss of Maghogany Trees due to over logging for commercial use.

Scotland is so far ahead of the numbers game, but we are a long way away from healing the world.